IA&A’s contemporary gallery in Washington, DC presents monthly exhibitions and public programs, including exclusive art-making activities led by local artists and experts. Recently, we hosted a workshop inspired by October exhibition History in Blue by Thai artist Bundith Phunsombatlert, who uses cyanotype printing to explore his direct experience with and the history of immigration. The workshop was led by local artist Emily Fussner, who often uses cyanotypes in her own work. Emily holds a BS in Printmaking from Indiana Wesleyan University (2013) and an MFA in Visual Arts from George Mason University (2019).
Above: Emily Fussner in her studio.
Keep reading to learn more about the cyanotype printing process and to see the final pieces we created!
On a sunny Saturday afternoon, participants headed outdoors in D.C.'s Dupont Circle neighborhood to gather found objects to use on their projects.
Participants were not only keen to work with the objects they found, they had the chance to create their own compositions by drawing and collaging with different materials.
Throughout the workshop, participants had the opportunity to collaborate and connect with each other, sharing the ideas behind their compositions. Emily provided a brief overview on the history and creative potential of cyanotype printing to inform and inspire the participants as they got ready to make their own prints.
Participants exposed their compositions in the sun, eagerly waiting for their cyanotypes to develop.
Invented in 1842 by astronomer and chemist Sir John Herschel, cyanotype is a photographic printing process that produces an image in a distinct cyan-blue color. During the 1840's, cyanotype was not typically used in mainstream photography, and was thus adopted as a copying technique for architectural and mechanical drawings (aka blueprints).
The cyanotype process is started by mixing equal parts of two chemicals, ferric ammonium citrate and potassium ferricyanide. When exposed to natural or artificial ultraviolet light, the iron salts in the chemicals begin to oxidize, producing a high contrast blue image. This oxidation process is sped up and made permanent by placing the prints underwater.
Here are some of the final prints created by workshop participants:
